Selling your tariff refund claim: prices, buyers, and what you give up

A refund claim is an asset: the right to money CBP will pay later, with interest, if the entry qualifies. Since the February 2026 ruling a market has formed around buying that right today.

What has been offered and paid (reported)

• Before the ruling (2025): offers of 20–30% of duties paid, per a report quoted in the Wyden–Warren letter to Cantor Fitzgerald; Cantor denies executing any trades.
• After the ruling (late February 2026): prices around 40¢ on the dollar, with Jefferies and Oppenheimer matching buyers and sellers, and larger claims often above $10 million (Wall Street Journal, via InvestmentNews).
• Later reports (August 2026): about 60 cents on the dollar after the ruling; named deals priced claims at about 27 to 70 cents — American Eagle sold $68.9 million of claims for $18.6 million; The Children's Place sold $38.2 million for about $25.7 million; Oaktree proposed about $20 million for $29 million of BJ's claims (Retail Dive, August 4, 2026).
• Published today: on this site, a claim buyer's profile shows the terms that the buyer states, each with its date; unstated terms show as "Unknown".

The spread tells you what buyers are pricing: liquidation status. An unliquidated entry headed into CAPE is nearly cash; a finally liquidated entry without a court order is a bet on the Federal Circuit.

How a sale works

CBP pays only the importer of record, or a designee on CBP Form 4811. A buyer therefore takes an assignment of the claim plus a designation or a repayment covenant; the importer still files (or the buyer's broker files for it) and the money flows through the importer or the designee. Read who bears the risk if CBP rejects entries, offsets the refund against other debts (the court's April 14, 2026 order allows offsets), or pays late.

When selling can make sense

• You need cash now and the claim is large enough that the discount is worth the certainty.
• Your entries are finally liquidated, you have no court case, and you would rather take a price than fund litigation.
• The claim is complicated (many brokers, reconciliation entries) and the buyer handles the filing.

When it usually does not

• Your entries are unliquidated or within 80 days of liquidation: CAPE pays 100% plus interest, generally within 60–90 days of acceptance. A 15–20% success-fee filer, or filing yourself, keeps far more.
• Prices moved from ~20¢ to ~40¢ within a week of the decision (February 2026 reports); later reports put them near 60¢, with named deals from about 27¢ to 70¢ (Retail Dive, August 4, 2026). Get more than one quote.

Questions to ask a buyer

1. Price as a percentage of duty, and whether interest is included.
2. Recourse: what happens if CBP pays less or nothing.
3. Who files, who is the Form 4811 designee, and whether you keep ACE visibility.
4. Timing of payment and any holdbacks.
5. Whether the buyer uses its own capital or brokers your claim to a fund (ask for the counterparty).

The comparison page lists the buyers with the terms they publish; the eligibility checker tells you which liquidation bucket your entries are in, which is what sets the price.

General information from public sources, not legal, tax or financial advice. Claim sales are private contracts; take advice. Checked October 8, 2026.